^Kranked Bikes have a throttle mode or some stupid shit.
Everyone else just buys cheap hardware from China to bypass the whole pedalling thing.
Too bad Alta MX went belly up. That showed how stupid e-Mtn bikes are. https://youtu.be/q2J5TJxOdwU
Honda just showed off an e-MX bike in Tokyo. KTM just needs to put the e-motor in a frame that isn’t the Freeride (67°HTA 😂)
Posted by: tashi
No, you must wrong. Dude was pedaling, you just didn’t see it because you were blinded by prejudice.
E-bikes are pedal ASSIST only, remember?
Not sure if serious...🧐
Does bring up a point though. E-mopeds are such different animals from mtb's it's a bit difficult to tell what exactly's going on with them while climbing. Sitting upright, resting easy and motoring uphill at 20mph looks..odd.
Whereas mountain bikers on steep climbs are clawing away with everything they've got, head down, making embarrassing animal sounds at about-to-fall-over speeds.
Anyhow, dude I watched didn't seem to be pedalling at all. Maybe I was wrong. I'm hoping not to see him up there again to verify.
Posted by: Hepcat
Posted by: tashi
No, you must wrong. Dude was pedaling, you just didn’t see it because you were blinded by prejudice.
E-bikes are pedal ASSIST only, remember?
Not sure if serious...🧐
Does bring up a point though. E-mopeds are such different animals from mtb's it's a bit difficult to tell what exactly's going on with them while climbing. Sitting upright, resting easy and motoring uphill at 20mph looks..odd.
Whereas mountain bikers on steep climbs are clawing away with everything they've got, head down, making embarrassing animal sounds at about-to-fall-over speeds.
Anyhow, dude I watched didn't seem to be pedalling at all. Maybe I was wrong. I'm hoping not to see him up there again to verify.
100% sarcasm.
We embrace these things at our peril.
Doesn’t matter how they’re marketed, those things aren’t used for mountain biking, they’re for motorbikin on mountain bike trails.
Ran into a guy at the end of my ride today on Fromme going up Dreamweaver on a Ebike. Told him he was not welcome, and everyone I meet gets the same lip. If you can't go up you can't go down, and never was there any assist in the up with Fromme. Saw an older couple exit Braemar....both on Ebikes.......older ones I guess I could give a pass but the slippery slope...
Since when was mountain biking the Shore a right rather than a privilege you had to earn? Ah....age of entitlement.
I suppose self policing is the only way this is going to work itself out..that is, if we all as a group agree Ebikes are wrong and not welcome, then those whom that have them will eventually move somewhere else or not ride (which is most likely for the best). I don't like them and think that they are cheating, and I call the users of them out. Shame works if it is continuous. My latest bike was bought on the premise it makes the up easier (hardtail) and I am under no illusion that there is going to be a day when I can't do this any more. But until then it will be earning my gain.
Wow. Judge and jury all in one confrontational package. I dont see the point of e-bikes either, but as of right now, they have just as much right to use those trails as you do. People demonstrating the attitude you are displaying are not going to help with the situation. Call them out if they are doing something that goes against normal trail etiquette, I have no problem with that. How about striking up a conversation asking why they have adopted E-biking instead of being a dick about it? Maybe you will see another point of view that you hadnt considered.
Do they really have "as much right to use those trails"? Are Fromme trails motorized vehicle friendly?
Mountain biking is the new golf, ebikes are the golf carts
Posted by: blackfly
Ran into a guy at the end of my ride today on Fromme going up Dreamweaver on a Ebike. Told him he was not welcome, and everyone I meet gets the same lip. If you can't go up you can't go down, and never was there any assist in the up with Fromme. Saw an older couple exit Braemar....both on Ebikes.......older ones I guess I could give a pass but the slippery slope...
Since when was mountain biking the Shore a right rather than a privilege you had to earn? Ah....age of entitlement.
I suppose self policing is the only way this is going to work itself out..that is, if we all as a group agree Ebikes are wrong and not welcome, then those whom that have them will eventually move somewhere else or not ride (which is most likely for the best). I don't like them and think that they are cheating, and I call the users of them out. Shame works if it is continuous. My latest bike was bought on the premise it makes the up easier (hardtail) and I am under no illusion that there is going to be a day when I can't do this any more. But until then it will be earning my gain.
I don’t ride an ebike, I am however developing osteo arthritis in my knees and there will come a day when I will have to give up the hobby that I love most in life. Now that said I almost certainly will be on an ebike to extend my love of the sport. I will absolutely ride ALL the same trails I do now. If you or any others want to give me”lip” you can kiss my ass!
Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.
Nothing gives you the right to judge anybody unless you know their situation. Now if you catch someone acting like an ass hat on any of our trails feel welcome to chastise them for poor behaviour, until then mind your own business.
To each their own.⛰👮♀️
Posted by: blackfly
Ran into a guy at the end of my ride today on Fromme going up Dreamweaver on a Ebike. Told him he was not welcome, and everyone I meet gets the same lip. If you can't go up you can't go down, and never was there any assist in the up with Fromme. Saw an older couple exit Braemar....both on Ebikes.......older ones I guess I could give a pass but the slippery slope...
Since when was mountain biking the Shore a right rather than a privilege you had to earn? Ah....age of entitlement.
I suppose self policing is the only way this is going to work itself out..that is, if we all as a group agree Ebikes are wrong and not welcome, then those whom that have them will eventually move somewhere else or not ride (which is most likely for the best). I don't like them and think that they are cheating, and I call the users of them out. Shame works if it is continuous. My latest bike was bought on the premise it makes the up easier (hardtail) and I am under no illusion that there is going to be a day when I can't do this any more. But until then it will be earning my gain.
Def my inside voice. I really don't engage the empoeders. They are usually middle aged lawyer types that don't want to earn it, their loss.
I am intrigued on how these bikes make the injuries magically disappear when descending. A 45-50 pound lead weight going down a black diamond trail. Must be effortless.
I hate being the harbinger, but anyone here who hasn't noticed the massive archetypal shift this Spring on Fromme and Seymour isn't riding their bikes enough. Sorry. You can't ride up No Quarter on the weekend without being chased by someone's kitchen appliance at some point - WHIRRRRR WHIRrrrrrrr whirrrrRRRRR.
The cat is out of the bag and it's f***ing everywhere. And the thing about cats f***ing is that they multiply exponentially. And there's nothing that's going to slow down that momentum and no enforceable rule or guideline that's going to make things the way they were even a couple of years ago. Anyone thinking of e-mailing their local trail association who wants to know what they can do about it - they can advocate for uni-directional trails and clear signage before there's a serious accident now that trails like Asian Adonis are two-way-possible for more than a tiny minority of riders. That's it. Sorry again.
"But it's a different activity, they should advocate for their own access," you say. Within less than ten years half the board and builders with the NSMBA, and probably every other trail association - even WORCA - will ride offroad more with electric motor assist then solely under their own steam. Sorry.
Recently, Wade Simmons told me that in ten years half the bikes I regularly see on North Shore trails will be Pedelecs. I think he 's wrong. I think it'll be five years. There is a dam holding back purchases right now as the joiners wait for Pedelecs to be mainstream enough. And as my friend Alex says, "taking the easy way out has always been mainstream." The Dam breaks this year. More sorries.
Right now you have friends who are walking back all the venom they've ever spewed about Pedelecs. The machines are already accepted for commuting and all the Armageddon and catastrophe predicted hasn't really occurred (just endless anecdotes about assholes riding way too fast on shared resources). We're well beyond the early adoption stage with mountain Pedelecs and people are buying them right now who were looking to join a lynch mob last year. Yes, Dave Norona called it - wrap your head around that. Yeah, sorry.
North Shore shops will sell 100+ offroad Pedelecs this year. Next year it will be thrice that at least. Being an asshole to one person on a Pedelec is like killing one spider in your kitchen. It would probably be better for everyone if you just let it go. If not this year, then definitely next year, every time you walk into a local shop there'll be a 50/50 chance that someone who works there will bring up Pedelecs unsolicited. Sorry.
It's not doom-and-gloom, it's the reality. You can quit and do something else with all the free time and money you'll suddenly have. You can join and be one in a sea of e~mea culpas. Or, you can just keep pedaling your person-powered-bike in the woods with or without your like-minded friends. Sorry.
If you can't stop thinking about it on the trails then I'd recommend single speeding and harder tech-gnar descents. There's no capacity for bicycle philosophizing when you're eating your own lungs climbing No Quarter and trying to survive down Boundary...
Sorry,
Posted by: AndrewMajor
I hate being the harbinger, but anyone here who hasn't noticed the massive archetypal shift this Spring on Fromme and Seymour isn't riding their bikes enough. Sorry. You can't ride up No Quarter on the weekend without being chased by someone's kitchen appliance at some point - WHIRRRRR WHIRrrrrrrr whirrrrRRRRR.
The cat is out of the bag and it's f***ing everywhere. And the thing about cats f***ing is that they multiply exponentially. And there's nothing that's going to slow down that momentum and no enforceable rule or guideline that's going to make things the way they were even a couple of years ago. Anyone thinking of e-mailing their local trail association who wants to know what they can do about it - they can advocate for uni-directional trails and clear signage before there's a serious accident now that trails like Asian Adonis are two-way-possible for more than a tiny minority of riders. That's it. Sorry again.
"But it's a different activity, they should advocate for their own access," you say. Within less than ten years half the board and builders with the NSMBA, and probably every other trail association - even WORCA - will ride offroad more with electric motor assist then solely under their own steam. Sorry.
Recently, Wade Simmons told me that in ten years half the bikes I regularly see on North Shore trails will be Pedelecs. I think he 's wrong. I think it'll be five years. There is a dam holding back purchases right now as the joiners wait for Pedelecs to be mainstream enough. And as my friend Alex says, "taking the easy way out has always been mainstream." The Dam breaks this year. More sorries.
Right now you have friends who are walking back all the venom they've ever spewed about Pedelecs. The machines are already accepted for commuting and all the Armageddon and catastrophe predicted hasn't really occurred (just endless anecdotes about assholes riding way too fast on shared resources). We're well beyond the early adoption stage with mountain Pedelecs and people are buying them right now who were looking to join a lynch mob last year. Yes, Dave Norona called it - wrap your head around that. Yeah, sorry.
North Shore shops will sell 100+ offroad Pedelecs this year. Next year it will be thrice that at least. Being an asshole to one person on a Pedelec is like killing one spider in your kitchen. It would probably be better for everyone if you just let it go. If not this year, then definitely next year, every time you walk into a local shop there'll be a 50/50 chance that someone who works there will bring up Pedelecs unsolicited. Sorry.
It's not doom-and-gloom, it's the reality. You can quit and do something else with all the free time and money you'll suddenly have. You can join and be one in a sea of e~mea culpas. Or, you can just keep pedaling your person-powered-bike in the woods with or without your like-minded friends. Sorry.
If you can't stop thinking about it on the trails then I'd recommend single speeding and harder tech-gnar descents. There's no capacity for bicycle philosophizing when you're eating your own lungs climbing No Quarter and trying to survive down Boundary...
Sorry,
Well said Andrew. Just like all new technologies, e-bikes are only going to become more popular as they become cheaper and lighter. Being an asshole to somebody riding on the trail isn't gonna change anything. Just ride your bike of choice and STFU. If and when the land managers come up with a policy about e-bikes on public trails, then you can refer to that policy if they are not complying with it. It bugs me for a few seconds when someone passes me on their e-bike, and then I return to my own little world, and carry on with hauling my sorry ass up the trail. I still ride a human powered bike, but the time will come (in 5 years at age 60 perhaps) when it just makes sense to make the switch. Lecture me then and all you'll get is me riding away with middle finger held high.
I honestly can't see why people are surprised this is happening. For the most part mtb'ing is a sport/activity of people with money who like to have fun and make no mistake that people on their ebikes are having fun. There was a narrow window of opportunity maybe 3-5 years ago where some sort of plan or regulations could have been put in place before ebikes on the trails took hold. Instead it seemed the majority who were against them seemed satisfied that simply ranting about them on various social media platforms or sometimes in public would be enough to make ebikes somehow magically go away. I can remember multiple "conversations" on here and FB where hardly anyone wanted to really think about the issue, it was just yelling and name calling that ebikes were going to ruin everything. Granted the speed or lack thereof with which governments work played a significant roll in things, but it should be known by now that technology has vastly increased the pace of change when new things come along. Blink a few too many times and you're left wondering what the hell happened. As to whether ebikes will ruin everything is up for debate. I'm sure in the eyes of some they already have, but I think next 2-3 years or so will really tell the tale on that on
One thing I find ironic is the similarity in some of these conversations compared to when mtb's first started appearing on hiking trails and people said they just wanted to have fun on their mtb's. The difference now of course is that the trail network is already established and maps are readily available so it's way easier to plunk down your cash for an emachine and hit the trails. Just think about it; for the average rider who doesn't enjoy climbing, who's riding experience is all about the down and is now in a stage of life where they have less free time available but more disposable income is it any wonder why they're getting a bike that allows them to ride way more in a shorter period of time? And let's not get started on the bike industry's need to keep reinventing itself to create continued profits, the ebike thing has had them salivating at the thought of sales for a long time.
I think in the end the number of people riding ebikes will settle below 50%, maybe 1/3 of all riders as there will be a lot of burnout with ebikes. People will get tired of having done a ton of the new thing in a short period of time and will either move on to something else or just simply ride less because they don't get the same level of satisfaction out of it any more. I see the new dominant group of riders as having one of each type of bike. A pedal bike for when they want to get their climb on and maybe enjoy the reward of going up under their own steam and an ebike for those days where they simply want to get in a quick lap in. I think the minority will be people with pedal only bikes; maybe due to cost, maybe due to stubbornness or for a significant group it will be because they enjoy the pedal and there is an intrinsic value to the work it takes to get to the top under their own power. There is no doubt that there is a reward to be had from that effort that no-ebike will ever replace. For me at least, this is why I ride.
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